


Delirium

by Kaminx



Series: Forever & Always [2]
Category: Ai no Kusabi
Genre: Abuse, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betrayal, Drama & Romance, F/M, Face Punching, Face Slapping, Fear, Gay Sex, Good and Evil, Guilt, Horror, Love, M/M, Murder, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Horror, Psychological Trauma, Rape Recovery, Rebuilding, Recovery, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex, Slapping, Strong Female Characters, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2020-02-16 08:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18687919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaminx/pseuds/Kaminx
Summary: Iason & Riki return to Amoï to deal with the new statuses, systems and chaos that comes with it.





	1. HOMEWARD BOUND

**Author's Note:**

> Hallelujah! It's been years! But I have returned with the sequel ♡

CHAPTER ONE

HOMEWARD BOUND  
<><><><><><><><><><>

Iason gently stroked Riki's hair, chuckling as the mongrel batted the hand away with his now healed hand. "Good morning, love," he whispered.

"How the fuck can you tell if it's morning?" Riki groaned, peering out the window into the blackness of space. They'd been on a slow ship to Amoï, dodging areas where potential conflicts were arising between other planets. 

"I have a very good internal clock," Iason reminded, kissing the exposed tanned shoulder. 

Riki scoffed. "Is it good enough to tell you when I'm not in the mood for sex? I don't think so."

Iason merely chuckled. "I disagree with that statement, I believe you and I both know you are almost always ready for me."

The mongrel just scowled, knowing damn well it was true. He had recovered from the rape, only having occassional nightmares. He was back to craving Iason like he was an addictive drug, needing him, his presence and his touch frequently.

"Don't pout," Iason teased, gently kissing Riki's cheek. "I find you needing me to be very touching and endearing."

"Shut up already."

Iason smiled. "All right, let's get up," he announced, giving the bare tanned ass a swat. "Breakfast awaits."

—

Riki glared, staring down at the utensils that were before him and reached for one but paused. He then looked at which one Iason was grabbing and based off that reached for one. 

"You do not eat meats with that utensil, Riki, you can use any other utensil except that one," Iason sighed. 

"Fucksake, does it really matter? A fork is a fork is it not?" Riki growled, grabbing another.

"Riki, if you're to be treated as an Elite, you must behave as one," Iason scolded. "Your napkin."

Riki closed his eyes for a moment, wanting so much to be back in the forests. He grabbed the napkin and put it in his lap. "Can I eat now?"

"Yes Riki, but I'm not trying to torment you, I'm trying to teach you so when we return you don't have endure this under someone else's instructions, do you understand?" 

Riki sighed. "Yeah, I get it ok? Now which fork is for what again?"

—

Raoul gazed out the windows of the long Eos hallways, noting that the areas of the city below still seemed to be very inactive. Since Iason had left, and Jupiter had taken the top Blondie's from power for interrogation Amoï had essentially been put on pause. 

Jupiter decreed that rations be cut back, and the planet initiated a temporary lockdown for precautions against enemies. The people happily obliged assuming Jupiter was protecting them from some potential war, however, it was all a coverup for the fact that her system of android enforcement was crumbling. Now the streets were lined with security droids, but very few people.

"Everything is a mess," Raoul muttered and shook his head, brushing the hair from his eyes as he continued to walk the long hallway. 

The worst part was that none of the lower level Blondie's were equipped to handle such ordeals that Iason, Orphe, Gideon, and Aisha were designed to. Meaning that Jupiter needed to create replacements for Orphe, Gideon and Aisha as they were now terminated. When Raoul had found out that Jupiter had not simply tampered with their brains but deactivated three of his fellow brothers it had hit him hard. He knew he should have been upset as they had hurt Iason and caused this situation, but they were too his brothers and they were not entirely wrong in trying to get Iason to see reason in that his pet was perhaps deluding his mind. 

Raoul paused, taking a breath as he recalled entering Jupiter's chambers to find his three brothers bodies. They were laid out on tables, all of them looked as if they had indeed suffered horribly. He pleaded with Jupiter for the rights of taking them, which to his surprise She granted. 

"Raoul," a gentle, but well spoken voice addressed, bringing the fellow Blondie out of his trance.

He wasn't used to the replacements yet, as how could he be used to different people in such a short span of time let alone ones to replace people he had know for his whole life? Jupiter had simply brought them into Eos one day, no introduction, and left a notice in the main meeting room. The replacements only had their future job titles and temporary names, as they would be locked into position when Iason returned. It was completely odd, as they all knew them, but none of the other Blondie's knew these newcomers. Raoul simply nodded to the new addition, shaking his head when they were gone. Most of them moved too rigidly, as if they were afraid of the older Blondies. Or perhaps they were under stricter orders from Jupiter at this time to learn their posts? Or were they taught not to act even remotely Human?

—

Riki exhaled his cigarette, ensuring that all the smoke went out the tiny vent in the bathroom. Iason had put him on a cigarette reduction and it was literally driving him up the walls. Elite status or not, a man had to have his smokes! 

The mongrel gazed out the window, catching a glimpse at one of the planets with lush terrain, and thought of Astreitania. He wanted to go back there and dive into the waters, and walk through the forests again. He looked down at the ring on his finger, and blushed thinking of Iason on that night and wearing his light fabric shirts revealing his body so freely. Goddamn, he would miss that too. There was no way Iason would be casual and as free spirited with him on Amoï again as he was on Astreitania.

A knock on the door spooked him. "Riki?" Iason called, no doubt listening through the thin layer between them.

Shit. Riki tossed his cigarette into the toilet and flushed, then headed over to the sink and washed his hands and wiped his face off. He opened the door and was treated with a Blondie who looked suspicious. "What?"

Iason hugged him close, then took a deep inhale, no doubt sealing the mongrel's fate. "Smoking without permission again?" 

"Oh come on," Riki protested, shoving away to no avail. "Just let me have my cigarettes in peace."

"You know you're on a tight limit, as Elites are not known to indulge in smoking unless they are cigars," Iason reminded.

Riki clicked his tongue. "Such bullshit. Then give me cigars!"

Iason chuckled, grabbing onto Riki's chin and kissing his lips softly then leaning in for a very long and deep kiss. "If I did that you would smoke like a chimney."

"Bastard."

"Now, now," Iason scolded, tapping Riki's nose. "No more being naughty. I want us to read some material together, Cal has gathered some articles on Elite behavior that I think you should read. And I can catch up on missed news." 

Riki groaned at the thought of more reading. Cal wasn't even on duty while on the ship, but the boy insisted on still being a helping hand. "Can I not?"

"Do you have other plans?"

"I was gonna nap...." Riki hinted, hoping to maybe bait Iason into a cuddle session and then make him forget about the reading. 

Iason blinked, processing this idea of a nap and possibly more very thoroughly. "I see," he answered. "Yes, I think a nap would be quite nice before we dwell into an afternoon of hard work."

—

Katze looked up at the arrival of Lord Am, pausing in his work to greet him. "Welcome back, Lord Am," he softly announced. "How was your outing?"

Raoul refrained from ripping his hair out, although his fingers twitched. "Raoul, Katze, it's Raoul," he reminded yet again, hoping that if the man was less like Furniture it would shake off this brain slip. "And why are you in here?" He looked in the kitchen and found food on the counter, but his new Furniture was out getting items so it was definitely Katze who had made this.

"It's getting close to dinnertime, Sir—"

"Raoul."

"As you wish, it is getting close to dinnertime, Raoul, and I did not want anyone to go hungry so I decided to prepare the meal."

Raoul brought his hand up to his head and had to command his fingers not to rip his hair out. "Katze, you are not Furniture anymore. You are not even my assistant anymore. You are simply living here for protection. This is not your job. You are a guest."

Katze seemed to hear Raoul, but stared at him blankly. "Are you displeased with the meal choice, Master?"

"Oh for Jupiters—" Raoul exclaimed, looking up to the ceiling in disbelief, that he had somehow destroyed the greatest Black Market dealer ever. He grabbed onto Katze's shoulders, and dragged him out into the living space. "Nothing is wrong with the meal, but it is not your job to provide for this house! You are a guest! A guest! Can you spell that? G-U-E-S-T! That's what you are! You are not my Furniture. Now, please go to any place that is not the kitchen!"

Katze stumbled back in confusion, bowed and headed for his guestroom. 

Raoul's real Furniture stepped inside at this time, staring at the scene. The Blondie sighed, seeing the boy with his arms full of groceries and food. "The kitchen has some meals started in it, freeze or dispose of whatever you see fit."

"Yes, Master," the boy answered and then scurried off. 

The Blondie turned down the hallway and moved to Katze's room where he deactivated a small panel so he could see what was happening. He observed the redhead restlessly sitting on the bed, then standing up and pacing while pulling his hair as if distraught while trying to remember something mumbling frantically. "So you do remember something, but you don't remember what it is," he noted, then reactivated the panel. "Interesting."

—

Riki dozed happily between consciousness and unconsciousness, snuggled up to Iason. The air was turned on and cooling off their bodies after their romp, which Riki was eternally grateful for as it aided his aching muscles. Iason did not hold back, and Riki was positive that he had postponed his readings with the multiple rounds of sex and pleasure they had done. He felt Iason move beside him, but he played the role of a totally dead to the world mongrel. 

He felt Iason slide his free arm over and grab something, which he presumed was either his wrist comm or his tablet reader or some device. Riki kept his breathing steady, his ears perked for any indication of what was going to happen. He heard and felt Iason shift in the bed, the sheets rustling as the Blondie seemed to be moving closer to his face. Riki kept it together as he felt Iason's long hair drag along his body and tickle his face, his breath on his neck.

"You know, I've watched you sleep a million times," Iason whispered. "And I know when you're faking, because you always sleep with your mouth a little bit open." He gently ran his thumb over the tan lips, watching as they parted and Riki's eyes peeked open at him.

Riki stared up at the Blondie, his face framed in the luscious locks. "You are one creepy fucker you know that?"

"You are one bad fake sleeper, do you know that?" Iason returned, leaning in to kiss the tanned lips, then giving Riki's butt a swat before getting up from the bed. "Now get up, you have reading to do."

Riki groaned, covering his eyes with his arm. "You were supposed to forget that!"

Iason smiled, a small chuckle leaving him. "Did you really think you could make me forget your tasks with just those few rounds, my silly mongrel?"

—

Riki wanted to burn the book's pages, but he couldn't as it was on a tablet screen taken from Iason's tablet. It was all about history of the Elites, and the proper attire and a bunch of other things Riki didn't give two flying shits about.

"Is this really necessary?" Riki demanded, glancing up at Iason with eyes cold enough to freeze a pot of boiling water. "When the hell will I ever need to know this?"

Iason sighed, setting his tablet down. "You might not need to know this specifically, Riki, but you will need to know the reason behind why the Elites are as refined as they are and why they make the choices they do."

"But this is pointless! I'm not being given an Elite job or anything, I just have a status so I don't have to attend pet shows and wear a collar anymore, ya? So why the fuck do I need to know this?"

"It's educational reading, Riki, maybe you'll learn something about Elites and better understand us," Iason defended. "If you're sharing a status with us, you should at least know a bit about the group your sharing a name with."

Riki frowned and scoffed under his breath, but grumpily went back to reading. "This is fucking stupid." He heard a gentle clatter on the table next to him and saw Cal set down a glass of stout and some sweet cookies for him. "Thanks, thought you were lost on the ship."

"Oh no, I've been busy in the kitchen, still learning where everything is and testing a few recipes," Cal returned. 

Without looking up Iason returned. "I told you that you did not need to provide for us during the flight home, Cal, unless I called upon you," he reminded.

Cal nodded. "I understand, Master, but I wanted to do something," he insisted. "If you are displeased, please punish me as you see fit." 

Iason looked up at the young Furniture and sighed. "No, I'm not displeased with it, but you really ought to enjoy your time without duties now, because when we return there may be increases."

"I will do what is needed of me, Master," Cal returned. "And it's no bother to bring and prepare food, I enjoy serving you and Sir Riki."

"Don't call me Sir," Riki growled.

"But, Riki with your new status as an Elite, I cannot simply call you by first name," Cal answered, horrified of his dilemma.

"Yes, you can and you will," Riki demanded, absolutely detesting having to use this system. "As an Elite, I order you to."

Cal paused, blinking a few times but nodded. "Yes, Riki."

"Good, its settled."

Iason pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, wondering if his beloved was going to try to pull that stunt anywhere else in the future. Then glanced back at the screen and continued to scroll through news articles of how Amoï was on lockdown protocol as if they were defending against invaders. He reached over and took a sip of his brandy, needing a drink to cope with the images of the deserted streets of Tanagura and Midas as citizens were remaining indoors. 

Why hadn't Jupiter kept the city thriving in his place? Wouldn't She have placed one of his mind tampered brothers or the replacements that Raoul had mentioned in his place and kept the Amoïan pulse beating? What was she doing during all of this time? Surely Raoul would have set the replacement up with Katze and kept everything under close watch and reported it back to him, but he had recieved no notifications, meaning nothing was coming into or leaving Amoï. Or if it was, it was the tiniest amount as if rationed for war efforts.

—

<><>A Month Before Iason's Return<><>

Raoul moved through the hallway, heading to his laboratory and turned a corner too sharply, narrowly missing another Blondie. He soon realized it was a replacement, and looked it up and down, unsure of which one it was.

"Ah, my apologies, " the Blondie quickly offered, a slight flicker of concern going across their face. "Are you all right?" They gently brushed off Raoul's shoulder, where their fabrics had touched, as if it was contaminated. "I should have not been standing so close to the corner, but that is where the circuit panels are." They pointed to the area. "A very senseless place if I might add."

Raoul followed the Blondie's gesture, finding the slight unhinged box. "It is quite all right, I was in a hurry and should have been more diligent," he returned, then pressed on, coming to the conclusion it was unlike the other two who were functioning as if they were almost unsure of how to be alive as this one actually reacted to him and did not avoid him all together after muttering one word. Furthermore he realize he hadn't spoken to this one, as it was very allusive, not out in the open like the other two, but definitely had a more approachable vibe. "Pardon me for saying this, but which area are you to be covering?"

The Blondie blinked, comprehending that Raoul had no idea who they were or what they did. "I am to be the new Head of Eos Security," they answered. "Jupiter has not revealed our names to us as of yet, as we are awaiting for Iason's return. But my name at this time is A." They smiled. "It is nice to finally speak with you, Raoul."


	2. TIME NEEDED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iason, Riki & Cal return to Amoï. Raoul manages to delay his fate.

CHAPTER TWO

TIME NEEDED  
<><><><><><><><><>

Riki observed the droids packing up the items that had become Iason's, Cal's and his home on board the shuttle to Amoï with silent precision. One day he wanted to take one of them apart and see how those bastards ticked, maybe he could find their weak point in case he got confronted by one. 

"Very nice," Iason complimented, coming up from behind his dazed mongrel and taking in his new Elite outfit. Riki was adorned in a breathable, black, long coat with ornate designs along the edging and a dark turtleneck shirt underneath. All paired with slimming black slacks, and tall black boots. "You will make a very good impression."

The mongrel cringed. "As long as I don't have to wear any of your more bulky outfits, and they stay within this range I'm all right."

"Bulky?" 

"You know," Riki sighed, tapping his shoulder. "With your shoulder shit on it."

Iason frowned. "You don't enjoy those ones?"

"They look good on you, and you know how to wear them," Riki back pedaled. "But I'm not suited to that. I'm a simple man." 

"I see," Iason returned, realizing that Blondie's did wear them because of their large frame and it added to their appearance of intimadation and status. "I will make sure you don't have any with..."bulky" features." He grabbed something from his pocket. "Final touch."

Riki glared. "Really?" he insisted, eyeing up the black pair of gloves.

"Did you want a white pair?"

"No, I dont want any pair."

Iason shook his head. "This is not negotiable. You must wear gloves." 

"I'm not a Blondie, only Blondie's wear gloves."

"You're a Blondie's partner," Iason reminded, giving Riki the gloves. "You should match me. Plus it might be wise to cover your ring for a bit."

Riki stared down at his ring for a moment, then reluctantly slid his gloves on. He was surprised at how nice they felt, and how he actually kind of liked them. What pleased him most was that he could still see the outline of his ring in the fabric, but no one else would unless they knew it was there.

—

Katze emerged from his room, and slowly ambled down the hallway to the kitchen where he found Raoul's Furniture, Liam. The young blonde boy simply smiled at him, a bit sympathetically. "Hello," the redhead spoke first.

"Hello, Sir Katze," Liam returned, then quickly added in attempt to not allow the older ex-Furniture to linger in the kitchen. "Master Am has left the computer systems unlocked for you if you wish to revisit them." 

A tiny fragment of Katze desired to bolt over to the computer, but he couldn't understand what he was searching for or what he would do. "I see," he nodded. "I will do that then." He turned on his heels and headed back the way he came, noting the darker skies of Amoï. He recalled that Jupiter had put the planet on lockdown, but he wasn't certain of the threat and Lord Am had assured him he was safe. But he felt like he should be communicating with someone or doing something in regards to it. 

With a sigh, the redhead plunked down at the computer and began analyzing the screen before him, skimming the coded sequences. He typed in something and was denied. Tried again and again was denied. After several attempts he just didn't desire to continue. 

Why did Lord Am want him to do this? What kind of stupid game was this? Why was this Blondie always playing games with him?

Katze paused, realizing that he recalled this was not the first time Lord Am had played tricks or games with him. Which alarmed him, because he couldn't remember the other instances. He grabbed a piece of writing paper from the desk and a pen, scribbling down the codes and took it to his room to fret over in private.

—  
<><>A Month Before Iason's Return<><>

Raoul invited Blondie A to sit down and talk with him, wanting to gain more insight on the replacements. "So you are Orphe's replacement?" he prompted.

"I don't prefer that term, but yes," they answered, looking a bit down at the idea of being a replacement for another. "At this current time I am merely a subordinate placed in this position."

Raoul internalized the comment, surprised that there was some humility within the Blondie. His brothers were not exactly known for their humble, and unglamorous lives so it was a breath of fresh air. "I am sure you will do fine," he honestly replied.

Blondie A smiled softly. "Thank you," they returned, then looked troubled. "I am not certain that the same can be said for the other two newcomers alongside me."

"How so?"

"They..." Blondie A paused, trying to articulate the facts. "Are struggling to find their rankings and associate with the others."

Raoul could easily believe that. "I noticed they were a bit standoffish around the others," he confessed.

"Ah, you noticed already," Blondie A sighed, poking two of their fingers into their forehead and closing their eyes. After a moment, they opened their bright blue eyes and shook their head. "They don't know how to act. I'm not certain if they are afraid of using any of the emotions they have at all or they just wish to seem intimidating, but it's disturbing. They are like frigid mannequins."

The green eyed Blondie let out a soft chuckle at the perfect insult, but then the conversation turned back to seriousness. "Perhaps in time they will adjust to their positions further, and become more expressive," he suggested.

"They are plenty expressive around me, just not to the rest of you. They have emotions, they just don't show them to the others which is not the point of a Blondie's existence. Were we not created to bridge the gap between Humanity and Aritifcial Intelligence, with the use of Human emotions and actions to better understand them while still having a system to guide them?"

—

Riki looked out the window as the ship began to land, frowning as he noticed the dark skies and lack of the luminous streetlights of Amoï. "Its so dark," he commented.

Iason followed his gaze, noting the eerie blackness that had descended upon his home planet. He felt a familiar emptiness grip his insides, and found himself reaching for Riki's hand. "There is a lockdown procedure in place," he assured Riki.

"What? Like for enemies?" 

"It's simply for Jupiter to shield herself until I return."

Riki blinked, realizing the magnitude of influence Iason had. "She's helpless without you," he mumbled. "Iason, you are her weakness. Why are we going back? Why can't we—"

"Riki," Iason sternly interrupted. "No. No more of this, we've gone over this." His blue eyes were now icy with frustration. "I'm not willingly abandoning Amoï and Jupiter."

The mongrel ripped his hand free from Iason's grasp. "Fuck you," he hissed.

Iason closed his eyes, taking a moment to calm himself down. His beloved had been through a lot so of course it was natural for him to lash out. "It will be better now," he simply assured. 

"Right," Riki spat, turning away from Iason and continuing to gaze out the window as the ship came down.

—

Riki stepped out onto the tarmac behind Iason, again weirded out by how abandoned the area was. To see the lack of ships going in and out of the planet was odd, but to see zero people other than them and just security droids was very unsettling. He found himself wanting to be closer to the Blondie unconsciously, very uncomfortable with the eeriness of it all. 

The empty hallways were lit, the screens on them project that there were no ships going in or out as it was prohibited. No one was at the counters to speak to. Two security droids manned the area, one taking the entrance and other breaking off to scan the hallway for people. 

"Come," Iason beckoned, breaking Riki's focus as he grasped onto his hand. "We are going now."

Riki nodded, following silently. He looked back and made sure Cal was still there, afraid he'd lose him in the creepy atmosphere. 

They made their way through the deserted exit passage, stopped by two security droids. But Iason simply confirmed his ID and they were cleared, and sent through to the parking area where his car was waiting. Riki assumed that it must've been delivered. 

"Cal," Riki softly invited, motioning for the back seat as Iason unlocked the car and he was able to open the door.

"Thank you, Riki," Cal returned, blushing slightly at using the Elite's name. 

Riki slipped into the front seat, then glanced at Iason who moved into his and adjusted everything to return them to their Eos home. A knot grew in his stomach, a desire to get out of the vehicle and run the empty streets and disappear. But the vehicle then began moving.

—

Raoul received the notice that Iason was returning to Eos shortly and moved to head to the side entrance. He wanted to be there firstly greet him, as he had battled with the idea of never seeing him in person again. Secondly, he needed to assure him everything was perfectly fine with Katze but his right hand man was just ill right now. 

He headed down the lift, grimacing as he looked out the window to the empty streets below. At this point he wasn't sure if there was hope for Tanagura. Jupiter had taken too long to put the replacements into position, and hadn't given them complete access to everything for the month they had been integrated. Raoul paused, wondering if the additions had truly "integrated" because he wasn't certain at this point. Blondie A, whom he had spoken to seemed capable but the other two concerned him. 

Raoul sighed, scratching his head, wondering if the lift was always this slow or if his mind was just racing? Finally it reached the main floor and he internally cringed as he saw Blondie B and Blondie C speaking, but with some of his brothers that he did not have the greatest opinions of since Amoï had been crumbling. 

Unwilling to indulge in conversation or let them know he was going to meet Iason, he simply nodded to them, and continued past them. He noted that although the were speaking Blondie B and C still had a monotone voice and seemed to be treading lightly in the conversation.

Frigid mannequins indeed they were.

—

Iason lead the group in the private side entrance, pleased when he saw Raoul there waiting for him. "Raoul," he smiled, and gave his brother a firm hug. "You didn't tell me it was this bad."

"There was no point," Raoul explained, looking apologetic. "Things are definitely not right, and will need to be..." He thought about the replacements, city in lockdown, lack of people, a certain redhead... "Managed accordingly and carefully with the new circumstances."

Iason sensed that sentence had a lot more implications than Raoul was saying, but nodded. "We will discuss it further in my home," he decided.

Raoul nodded, then looked back to Riki with a nod. "I'm actually glad to see you standing," he commented. 

"Thanks," Riki returned.

Iason then lead the group up the private access lift to his home, so they would not be disturbed while they awaited the arrival of their luggage. Cal brought Iason and Raoul a drink, while he began to make some supper, especially for Riki who commented that he was starving. 

"Any updates?" Iason inquired, sipping some of his wine.

Raoul looked uncomfortable for a moment. "There is a lot that I did not discuss over our chats, Iason," he admitted.

Iason's eye's narrowed. "Such as?"

The green eyed blondie took a drink. "The replacements," he began.

"What about them?"

Raoul shook his head. "Jupiter took about three weeks after your absence to release them," he explained. "And they have been in their positions for about a month."

Iason frowned. "And?"

"They are not normal." He paused, adding. "Two out of three anyways, mostly."

"Raoul, you're being cryptic just say what you want to say already," he demanded.

Raoul looked around, then leaned in and whispered. "They don't know how to be Blondie's," he hesitantly revealed. "They are very disconcerting to be around." 

Iason looked sympathetic for a moment. "I think you just miss the people they are replacing," he suggested. He couldn't say he would though. 

"I thought that too, at first, but it's in the way they talk, Iason it's as if theyve never interacted with Humans or Androids," Raoul pressed on. "I don't know where Jupiter conjured up the replacements, but the two that haven't spoken to me, something is not right. I think they need to be evaluated." He took a sip of his drink, thankful he had his brother to confide in. "I wish to see if I can help them, but beyond being polite and saying hello it is as if they are spooked by me."

"How would they be spooked by you, if they haven't talked to you?"

Raoul sat up. "That's just it! They all know us, but we don't know them," he answered, exasperated. "And since Jupiter was awaiting for your return to name them we haven't had any proper—"

"Pardon me?" Iason interrupted, a deep frown coming over his complexion. Jupiter was waiting for him to come back to give the new Blondie's names and reveal titles? "Are you telling me, that these Blondie's have been wandering about nameless for almost two months?"

"Yes! Isn't it preposterous!"

"What on Amoï have you been calling them this whole time?" Iason demanded.

Raoul chuckled. "Blondie A, Blondie B, and Blondie C," he answered.

Iason's face crinkled, his blue eyes piercing Raoul. "You're pulling a joke," he accused.

"No I am not, and the worst part is that we had no introduction, they were simply there," Raoul revealed. "We haven't even had a formal meeting with them as of yet. You have to seek each one out to communicate with them."

Iason shook his head, this was not like Jupiter at all. This was very disturbing and wrong. "I need to see Jupiter," he muttered softly, then looked up at Raoul. "What does Katze think of all this?"

Raoul stiffened. "He has had the same feelings as you probably are," he lied.

"I need to speak with him," Iason decided, rising up.

"He is not well tonight," Raoul added quickly, grasping onto his brother's arm. "He was feeling ill and retired early tonight. I checked in on him before I met you and he was fast asleep, recovering. After all that has happened I think it would be best to allow him a night of rest so he can see you tomorrow morning with a clear mind."

Iason hesitated, really wanting to speak with Katze. But he did know that leaving Katze behind would have taken a toll on him too. "Very well," he agreed. "I will speak with Jupiter tonight. But I wish to see Katze tomorrow, Raoul."

Raoul nodded, giving Iason a pat on the back and a smile. "Yes, I think that would be best," he agreed. "I think I will take my leave as well."

"It was very nice to see you, Raoul," Iason softly told his brother. "I am glad you were not harmed."

"As I am I," Raoul returned with an almost seductive smile, then made his way out of the home and turned in the direction of his own. He moved toward it as fast as he possibly could, cursing internally the entire way.

—

Iason stepped into the sanctuary, and slowly approached Jupiter who was hovering on her pedestal. He bowed before her. "I am home," he simply told her. 

Jupiter fluttered over to him, and put her hands upon him, an aura of gold beaming around her. "You left me," she accused, sending pulses of electricity to Iason that hurt.

"I am sorry."

Jupiter's aura softened, and the pulses turned to more pleasurable ones. "You are home," she repeated to herself. "My child is home."

Iason looked up into Jupiter's eyes, noting that they were a bit different color, but thought it was maybe due to the reunion. "Yes, and I am here to do what you need me to."

—

"Where is he?" Riki barked, looking throughout the apartment for Iason but didn't find him. He had been so engulfed in his food that he hadn't noticed the Blondie slip away.

"He went to see Jupiter, I believe," Cal admitted. 

Riki growled to himself. "Fucking toaster." He then plunked down on the couch and flicked on the telescreen. He hadn't realized he was tired, but within a few minutes he was out cold. He sleepily opened his eyes when he felt a soft hand touching his face and saw Iason. "Hey...you're back."

"I am," Iason agreed, then scowled. "You shouldn't sleep in your new clothes, and without a blanket." 

The mongrel rolled his eyes. "What did the microwave want?"

Iason glared. "Riki, don't talk about Jupiter that way." He slapped the mongrel's knee. "And she didn't want anything, I went to tell her I was back."

Riki rubbed his knee, glaring. "She obviously knew you were back."

"Its called being polite, you should work on that."

Riki gulped back a retort, and let a simple "whatever" out. "I'm going to go smoke," he grumbled. 

"Not in those clothes," Iason called out, stopping Riki in his tracks. "You need to change into casual clothing to smoke."

The mongrel turned on his heel, and headed to the bedroom. "Sure thing, Master," he retorted, the last word scathing with bitterness. 

"Riki!" Iason yelled, already up on his feet and at the end of the hallway. 

Riki was already in the bedroom, and ripping off the clothing. "What a fucking joke," he laughed, shedding off the clothes as easily as his apparent new status. When he reached the gloves, he stopped to look at the ring and slipped it off too. 

Iason entered the room, finding Riki pulling one of his many black shirts on. "Riki," he tiredly called. 

"What?"

"Why are you acting this way?" Iason demanded, approaching his very livid beloved. He gently ran his hands down his sides. "What's wrong?"

Riki glared more. "You have to ask?" he hissed, trying to shrug Iason's touch off. 

"I know you don't want to be back here, and it will take time to adjust to everything, but—"

"It's you, OK?" Riki blurted. "It's you."

Iason paused. "Me?"

Riki folded his arms. "Ever since we got back, you've turned back to your same old self," he growled. "What happened to the Iason from Astreitania?" 

The Blondie paused, unsure of what Riki meant. Of course he had to be a bit stricter as there were rules in place but he still loved Riki with all of his being. Was he not expressing it enough? Was he falling back into his old Master and pet ways? "Riki, I still have the same feelings then now, none of that will change, ever," he assured. "I'm sorry if I fell back into old patterns. It is a hard process for me to break."

Riki blinked, surprised Iason would admit something like that to him. But it wasn't the first time the Blondie had shown him a more vulnerable and human side. 

"Please be patient with me, I will try to adjust my mind," Iason offered. He then noticed Riki's left hand, and felt his chest tighten painfully. "Your ring." 

The mongrel looked down at his crossed arms, to his left hand where Iason was gently touching. "I took it off," he choked, regretting his decision as he noticed the hurt in the blue eyes. He freed his right hand and fished it out of his back pants pocket, as Iason just held his left hand quietly. "Here."

Iason took the ring, and slowly put it back on the finger where it belonged and brought it up to his lips and kissed it. "Please, don't do that again," he requested softly. 

Riki nodded, gulping as he saw how much it hurt Iason's feelings. "I won't." He stepped forward into Iason, and was soon embraced in a hug. Riki felt overwhelmed with emotions, as his throat tightened and his chest ached. "I love you."

Iason pulled back and kissed Riki, picking him up in his arms. He felt the younger man wrap his legs around his body, trapping him. "I love you too."


	3. REVEALING TRUTHS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riki & Iason meet the new Blondies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Canada Day ♡

CHAPTER THREE 

REVEALING TRUTHS  
<><><><><><><><>

Raoul burst into his home, hurrying into the livingroom and looking around for Katze. He scowled when he didn't see the redhead, and moved down the hallway to where he was rooming. When he opened the door, the Blondie froze and examined the floor to find writing all over the floor sprawling out from a single paper.

He cautiously moved to the side, seemingly unnoticed by the redhead who was lost in thought. Raoul analyzed each strain of numbers, writing and information trying to decipher it. 

"Oh good goddess," he breathed, realizing that whatever part of Katze was active right now was the old Katze that he needed to get back. 

Katze turned around, looking up at Raoul. "Ah, Lord Am," he nodded, then turned back to his work. "I don't have my supplies with me, so I had to make do." He pushed another pile of papers over to the side. "I need to get these back to my work, and enter them into my terminal." 

Raoul crouched down, reading a bunch of papers that had vital information of Iason's clients and much more. "I can deliver these documents for you, if you wish," he offered, sensing that Katze was not at one hundred percent. 

The redhead hesitated, his hands hovering over the stack. He didn't want to give it up, but he had no right to deny a Blondie anything. "My boss is the only one who's supposed to see this," he softly announced.

A tad surprised that Katze finally denied him something, he nodded. "You will see your boss tomorrow," Raoul revealed, standing up.

Katze stiffened, terrified. "No! I can't!"

Raoul took a step back as the young man was at his feet, on his knees begging. "Katze, I cannot deny him the request—"

"Please!"

The Blondie was definitely disturbed by the actions of the usually docile and in control black market dealer. He nodded, seeing nothing else he could do as if he presented Iason with this hysterical Katze he would definitely be terminated. "I will see what I can do."

"Thank you, thank you, Raoul."

"But I'm taking those," he bargained, pointing to the completed stack of papers on the floor. "The least I can do is give your boss proof you're alive."

—

Iason gently cuddled his precious mongrel from behind, planting a kiss on the tanned shoulder. "Good morning, love," he purred.

An unhappy sound came from the mongrel, and he tried to wiggle away and bury himself under the covers. "No, no it's not morning," he decided aloud.

With a grin, Iason went under the covers with Riki. "Yes it is, the sun is rising," he revealed.

"If I can't see it, then it ain't morning," Riki retorted, snuggling into the soft blankets with his eyes still closed.

Iason found Riki's logic flawed, but amusing and decided to allow him more sleeping time. He wouldn't be doing much with Elite training today, and since he was an Elite only in status he did not have any duties to attend to. He kissed Riki's cheek, then slipped out of the bed and headed out for his own day.

When he entered the living space from the hallway, he was surprised when a familiar Blondie walked into his home. "Raoul? I wasn't expecting you."

"My apologies, but I wanted to talk with you first thing," Raoul explained.

Iason nodded, motioning for him to follow and they both headed to his secured office room. He sat down at his desk and Raoul sat down across from him. "What is so urgent you needed to come here at this time?"

Raoul kept his gaze on Iason's face. "It's about Katze," he admitted.

Iason's eyes narrowed in on his friend. "What about him?" he icilily demanded.

Sensing his impended danger, Raoul backtracked very quickly. "He's ill right now, and isn't well enough to meet with you, but." He handed off the files. "He gave me those for you."

"If he is ill, surely you of all people cannot amend him?" Iason challenged, taking the files and skimming them over. 

Raoul kept his calm, leaning back. "He was stubborn, and only allowed me to help when he was at his worst state, it will take time to amend him." 

Iason hummed, knowing that Katze did tend to neglect his health when he was swamped with work. And the ex Furniture was given the power to deny help from a Blondie so it was possible that he had dismissed Raoul until he absolutely needed it. "You should have forced him to into healing measures," Iason scolded. 

The green eyed Blondie recalled the whole incident that lead to the incident, and how his intention on scientific "healing" measures had gotten him in this mess. "Believe me, I tried."

—

"Hmph," Riki sounded, throwing off the blankets and finally getting his ass out of the bed. He hopped into the shower and threw on a pair of his "casual" black pants and a tank top. 

The sound of talking met his ears and he stepped into the entrance area where he spotted Raoul and Iason chatting. He disregarded them both, and headed to the balcony.

"Riki," Iason called out, stopping the mongrel in his tracks. "You should greet Raoul."

Are you fucking kidding me? Riki turned around, giving a nod to Raoul. "Raoul," he repeated, the greeting sounding like a foreign poison on his tongue.

"Riki," Raoul returned, then turned his attention back to Iason. "Will you both be at the meeting today?" 

Riki raised his eyebrow, wondering when the hell he was included in any of the bullshit and slowly inched toward the balcony. His cigarette was in his fingertips.

"Yes, we both," Iason answered, emphasizing the word both to let Riki know to stay right where he was. "will be attending." 

The mongrel grumbled silently to himself, leaning against the bar with his arms crossed. Fucking hell, what did he need to attend a meeting for? And why couldnt he go smoke?

Raoul nodded. "Very good, I will see you both then."

Riki waited until both Blondies said goodbye then he glared at Iason who faced him. "Can I go smoke now?" 

"You have five minutes," Iason announced, then moved to his tablet on the table and keyed in some specific numbers. "Then we have to get you in your outfit and ensure it's fitted."

The dark eyes narrowed. "What?"

—

"Absolutely fucking not," Riki hissed.

Iason blocked the exit, having told the assistant to leave them alone and that they were not to be disturbed. "Riki, this is not negotiable," he denied. 

Riki's eyes went to dark slits. "I said no bulky shoulder shit!" he denied, pointing at the white and grey ceremonial outfit with shoulder pieces, wide chest piece and flowing tunic like top. 

"Every Blondie wears one, and you would look out of place in the room if you didn't have one on," Iason insisted.

"I'm. Not. A. Blondie!" Riki snarled back, smacking his hands against Iason's chest, only to have them caught. 

Iason held his left hand up, somewhat painfully. "You are a Blondie's mate, an Elite in title, and you must match me and act like it," he darkly reminded. "And right now you are not doing so."

"Let go of me!" Riki snarled, twisting away from the Blondie, but couldn't escape. "Fucking let go!" The Blondie did then, letting Riki fall onto his rear end on the floor. "Ow! You prick!" He then found himself back up and pinned against the wall, his pants being sharply ripped down. "Wait, wait, Iason!" 

Riki struggled with all of his might, hearing Iason easily free himself. "No! Iason, stop!" he yelled, fighting with all his might. He clenched his body together tight, feeling the Blondie at his opening. A spike of fear shot through him. "Please, don't."

Iason leaned in really close to Riki's ear, pushing him flush to the wall. "Do you remember now, how I could handle your disobedience?" he chillingly whispered, rubbing himself against the taunt entrance. "Do you see how lenient I've been with you since we've returned?" 

Riki numbly nodded, remembering now all too well of how Iason would've usually handled his outbursts in the past. "Yes," he gulped.

"Good," Iason returned, moving his face away. He rocked his hips gently, a warning for obedience. "Now let's get that outfit on you." He moved away from Riki, adjusting himself and watching his mongrel.

Riki stayed frozen for a moment, before stepping out of his pulled down pants. He then shrugged off his top, and slowly turned to face Iason who didn't appear to be upset with him anymore. He took a step forward to him, feeling a bit vulnerable and uneasy if Iason was still upset then he was totally exposed. Riki gently reached out and touched the Blondie's left hand, then looked up to see if it irritated him at all. To his relief it had the opposite effect, causing Iason to embrace him. "I'm sorry."

Iason sighed. "I know, love," he answered, kissing his head. "It's been hard for both of us."

The mongrel stayed in the blonde's arms for a little longer, wanting to calm them both down and remind them of their new life. "Do I really have to wear the thing?" he whispered, playing with a piece of Iason's hair.

"Yes," the taller man answered, firmly but his voice still soothing.

"Fine, let's get this shit on," Riki sighed.

—

Riki trailed alongside Iason, trying to work out the manoeuvring techniques for the outfit, but also evade the looks being given. He wanted to go back to the island, where no one cared about how he looked and none of this outfit nonsense was necessary.

"Are you all right?"

Riki paused, nearly bumping into Iason who slowed to check on him. "I'm fine!" he hissed, embarrassed and annoyed with the stupid outfit and being unable to move as he wished. He wanted the freedom of his jeans and shirt not this heavy shit.

Iason sensed his beloved's distress, and gently stroked his cheek. "It won't be long then we will be home and you can change, bear with it."

Riki nodded. "Got it."

The two then proceeded down the corridor into the large meeting area where a table with chairs surrounding it was in the middle. Iason greeted a few of the Blondie's, noting that there were none of the new ones yet. He introduced Riki's new title on behalf of him, saving the mongrel from having to mostly speak. Finally they sat down at the table, an empty chair remained next to Riki and beyond that was Raoul. 

"I'm sure you all know why we have gathered here today," Raoul spoke, being the leader of the meeting. "Iason has returned to us, and upon his return we are to now officially have our newest additions sworn into their positions and named." 

"We've already been acquainted with them," Alaster, a low ranking Blondie sneered. "We've known them the whole time he's abandoned Amoï."

A few Blondie's agreed, but Raoul cleared his throat and continued, silencing them effectively. "They have not officially been named or given positions, but rather been training and learning. Associating with you is not fulfilling their duties, or am I mistaken?"

No one spoke against him then. "That's what I thought," he concluded. "So we shall now proceed to introduce the three Blondie's who are replacing Aisha, Gideon, and Orphe. Our brother's committed an act of tremendous horror, and could have taken out Amoï had Iason decided not to graciously return. Do not forget this." Raoul rose up, motioning to the door. "Iason, Riki and my fellow brothers, may I introduce you to our newest members."

The Blondie's started clapping, as the first newest Blondie entered the room. "For the position of Midas security, may I introduce Cyril Diaz."

Riki eyed up the monster of the dirty blonde Blondie as he bowed, noting that he looked like he was a bodybuilder in his spare time. He didn't have the same body type as Iason, who wasn't as bulky but more refined. 

"For the position of Head of Administration in Eos, we have Emma Moore," Raoul continued.

Iason paused, his eyes narrowing as he thought he maybe heard the name wrong but his eyes confirmed it as a young female Blondie entered and bowed. Her blonde hair in a ponytail. "A female?"

"A chick?" Riki choked.

"And for Head of Eos Security we have Zara Avery—" Raoul started, only to be cut off.

"She will not be attending," Emma piped up.

Raoul frowned. "Attendance is mandatory," he returned, then stepped out the door and looked out. "I swear I saw her."

Cyril stepped forward. "She said she had urgent issues to attend to," he added. "It must've been bad. She didn't want the safety of Eos to be harmed within the span of our meeting."

Raoul nodded, accepting the idea but not believing it at all. He would check on her later. "These are two of our three newest members, we welcome you."

Riki glanced up as Iason clapped while the others went to congratulate the new Blondie's on earning their names. "I didn't know Jupiter made chick Blondies."

"Neither did I," Iason answered quietly, then instantly wiped off the concern and went to greet the newcomers.

—

"You didn't tell me there were two females," Iason finally spoke, having waited until the meeting was done to speak with Raoul on the walk back to the apartment.

Raoul sighed. "I know and I apologize, but there was no point in saying anything as then if it upset you, it might've made you not want to come back."

Iason blinked. "You thought I'd be disturbed by the females?"

"Maybe. Some Elites are."

"It is odd, but not enough to push me away from Amoï," he added. Make me question Jupiter, yes. "Where is the third one, Zara is it?"

"I believe she is in the security center, where she spends most of her time," Raoul explained. "Zara keeps a tight lockdown on the office, preferring to only have herself in there rather than shifts of Blondie's as we once did."

Iason frowned. "I see."

Raoul analyzed his brother's look. "Now hold on, don't get suspicious of her," he warned. "If anything, I think she's weeding out rats we have left over."

"Did I say I was suspicious?"

"No."

"Honestly Raoul," Iason scoffed. "You're very defensive of this one. Why?"

"Well..." 

Iason raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"I SAID LET ME IN!" a voice yelled, followed by pounding. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DENY ME YOU BITCH!"

Security droids hovered over, detaining the flustered Platinum Elite. He had been denied an off world pet, and was not taking it the best way.

"I'LL GET YOU, YOU BITCH!" 

Iason blinked. "What a fuss," he commented.

The elevator that led up to the security tower, which the man had been banging on pinged, before the doors slid open. A small, blonde haired woman exited, dressed in a uniform similar to one of Iason's but in a woman's style. She was definitely shorter than the others, almost as tall as Riki. Her hair was almost white it was so blonde, and her eyes were blue like the ocean. She stepped out onto the floor, humming the tune of the song she was listening too, while reading the security memos for the day. 

Zara glanced up, spotting Raoul and smiled brightly. "Raoul! It's so good to see you, my apologies for not coming to the meeting," she called, then closed the distance between them. 

"Are you all right? I thought I saw you there and then you were gone," Raoul explained.

"Ah, yes," Zara mumbled, avoiding his gaze, then smiling. "It was nothing to worry about. But I am sorry about the meeting." She looked to Iason. "You must be Iason, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"You as well," he returned, then noticed a tiny flake of nude powder crumble from her cheek. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and caught it. He was surprised she didn't flinched, but more surprised that the flake of powder was concealer. His eyes focused in on her face and he then noticed the outline of a bruise.

"I hope Cyril and Emma didn't cause you any trouble," Zara quickly spoke up. "They can sometimes say odd things, as they don't have excelling interaction skills."

"No, not at all," Raoul assured. "The meeting was fine."

Iason finally spoke up. "Your face."

Zara paused. "Pardon?"

"What happened to your face?" 

Raoul raised an eyebrow, but glanced at Iason's dirtied gloves then to where he caught the flake. "You have a bruise," he commented, reaching to touch. 

This time, Zara stepped back. "It's fine, I tended to it. I'm very clumsy." She smiled and chuckled nervously. "It's why I wasn't at your meeting. I slipped while outside and smacked my face right on the corner decoration." She sighed. "What a dopey thing to do. So anyways, I couldn't walk in right then, as my face looked like it had just been through a war so I told the others I had to go and ran." She bowed. "I'm very sorry."

"You shouldn't have left, I could've healed it," Raoul sighed, but understood the embarrassment she would've had to endure. "Anyways all is done, but let me fix that. I'll be right back." 

Zara nodded. "Thank you. And it was a pleasure meeting you, Iason."

Iason nodded. "We will be in touch."

Raoul turned and headed back to his place, with Iason following to take the elevator back to his own. 

Iason chuckled, seeing now why Raoul was so enamored by the third Blondie. "She's a young, bright one."

"Yes, she is," Raoul answered. "And I plan to help keep her with that spark of brightness for as long as I can. Would do us some good, would it not?"


	4. FACE THE TRUTH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth behind Zara's face revealed, Iason & Riki bonding. Katze discovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiii! 
> 
> So uh...I have Reddit now. Come find me :3 if you want to see coolio things of AnK.
> 
> Or me lol. (I'm so lame plz dont come for me just for AnK).

Chapter Four

<><>FACE THE TRUTH<><>

—

Zara didn't flinch as the Blondie applied a stinging cleaner to her face, her eyes blankly straight ahead as she sighed. "Sorry about disturbing you," she apologized yet again. 

"It's fine, really," Raoul insisted, still mentally processing what made these new Blondie's tick. "If anything it's intriguing."

"Pardon?" Zara blinked, unsure of why her being bruised was so fascinating.

Raoul smiled thinly. "We don't bruise, dear," he explained. "So the fact you bruise means you have more living tissue than us older Blondies."

The female blonde paused. "Ah, I see..." she mumbled. "Jupiter did...use more...of my body in the recreation process."

Now it was Raoul's turn to pause. "Go on," he beckoned, stopping his tendings to her. "How do you know about the recreation process?"

—

Riki sighed, standing at the railing of the balcony. He looked out to all the businesses, buildings and past it all to the soft curve of the planet. Eos was just weird and desolate, aside from security droids circling around. 

He vaguely wondered about Ceres, and the conditions of the people there. Were they safe on lockdown or all under arrest and being harassed and attacked? Were the rest of his gang all right? He was pretty sure....Guy was dead. Riki shook his head, not even going to go back into thinking about it right now – he couldn't bring himself to. 

The mongrel leaned over the edge, stepping on a tiny lip in the wall and looked down. It was one hell of a fucking drop. He remembered thinking he would probably pass out on the way down, and be dead the moment of impact if he ever did have to jump. But so far Riki had avoided this method. 

In a swift motion, he was pulled back from the railing and was firmly against a smooth tall body. "You know better than to lean over the railing," Iason scolded. 

"Was just looking at how empty the streets were," Riki scoffed, trying to shrug him off. "Shouldn't the lockdown be called off now?"

"It will be shortly," Iason agreed, turning him around and gently holding him close. "Then everything will go back to normal."

That rubbed Riki the wrong way immediately, he pushed away from Iason. "Normal?" he hissed. 

"For them," Iason clarified, snatching him back up, and giving him a soft peck. "We still have a lot to adjust to in here." 

—

Zara sighed. "I mean that, well, I don't know exactly what I mean," she stumbled. "I just know, that Jupiter took me from the security academy I was training in, and..." She paused, finally just saying it. "I still have the complete head of Human me." 

Raoul blinked, thinking the idea through. Why would Jupiter risk putting the head of a Human on the body of a Blondie? Especially the Head, no pun intended, of Security? "And it's just your head?" 

"I think so," she confirmed, undoing the beginning of her top, to show Raoul where her real skin and the synthetic body began just at the base of her neck.

"Fascinating," Raoul sounded, examining the area where the synthetic skin met Zara's. There was no line or visible way to detect it, one had to know what the feeling of synthetic versus real skin felt like, as they were similar but side by side they could be detected. "I'm certain Jupiter kept your head in fear of having your brain damaged in some way in the recreation process." 

Zara nodded. "Yes, I thought so too," she agreed. Then looked down. "Raoul?" 

"Yes?" the Blondie answered, typing his newfound data into the computer. 

"I didn't see the other two anywhere near me in the creation room," she whispered. "I had been there...before I was...before my head was." She exhaled softly."Nowhere did I ever see them ever, before. I was just awoken and there they both were as if they had been right beside me. And when I asked about them, they said I must've forgotten. But I swear, Raoul, I swear." She looked him deep in the eyes. "I didn't see anyone else in those tanks around me during my creation days."

—

Iason headed up the elevator, before entering into Raoul's home, unwarranted. He waved off the Furniture, who looked at him with fearful eyes and was ready to protest.

"Katze?" the Blondie called, heading towards the hallways. He began having all the doors open to reveal where the whereabouts of his right hand man was. "Katze, where are you?"

A red headed man peeked his head out from a room, not saying anything, but looking at the man calling him. There eyes met, and they held each other's gaze for a long silent moment.

Iason took a step forward, which caused Katze to tense up in fear. The next step cause Katze to turn, but by then Iason had managed to get the next steps to him in and had already captured him. This was not his Katze. This was not his right hand man Katze. 

"Katze," Iason demanded, grabbing onto the redhead's face and staring deep into his eyes with his piercing ice eyes to see if there was any recognition.

Raoul burst around the corner, damn near out of breath from having to run down the private hallway from prying eyes. He'd gotten the call from his Furniture after patching Zara up, and he had run for his life. "Iason, wait! I can—"

"What have you done to him?" Iason demanded, his voice absolutely chilling to the bone.

"He was helping me with an experiment and the next thing I knew, he has the worst case of amnesia I've seen." Raoul timidly approached, watching as Iason calmly placed Katze against the wall and was running his gloved hands over his shoulders and chest to see if there were any anomalies. "He's fine health wise, he just has reverted back to Furniture habits."

"Oh? Is that all?"

"Yes."

Raoul barely had time to brace as Iason tackled him to the ground and slammed him hard into the floor. "There's only one issue with that, Raoul," Iason calmly reminded, pointing to the Furniture Katze. "That man right there, hasn't been Furniture for many, many years. And as Furniture he is useless to me!" 

"You don't think I know that?" Raoul argued, trying to fight back, taking a swing at Iason only to have his brother catch the blow. He rammed his knee up and hit hard watching as Iason flinched. "Oh, a little too much sensation there?" 

"You're jealous of what you lack," Iason hissed, punching Raoul's stomach, satisfied when he moaned in pain. "You better damn well fix him." He blinked, surprised he used a vulgar word. "Or else Jupiter will be adding you to the replacement list." He got up, and took Katze by the hand and brought him forward. "You can come and get him when you need him." 

Raoul laid there, his stomach circuits warning him of an impact. He sighed, goddamit he deserved that he supposed. But really, what more was there to do to bring back someone who was stuck living his second life in the past? 

—

"You're joking, right?" Riki scoffed, glancing up and down. He had just gotten out of the dreaded ceremony outfit and into his own clothes and now this was happening.

"No, Riki," Iason tossed back, irritated to the nines, as watched the stiff redhead wander lost around the home. "When have I ever joked about something like this?"

"Well shit." 

"Riki," the Blondie admonished.

Riki moved closer to Katze, and observed him before making a move to touch his shoulder. Never would the black market dealer let himself be touched so casually, but yet he didn't even react negatively. "Hey, you remember me?"

Katze turned to face him, his eyes focusing on the mongrel before falling. "My apologies, but I do not remember you, sir."

The mongrel cringed. "Well first thing to remember, don't call me sir, I'm Riki," he quickly demanded, then gave the redhead's arm a soft squeeze. "It'll come back to you."

"Riki, don't make him more confused," Iason scolded. "He has no idea what he's meant to do right now, let alone—"

"I used to live here..." Katze whispered.

Iason perked up. "Yes, yes you did a long time ago."

Katze paused. "Then..." His brow twisted, and his hand touched his face. "I...I..."

The Blondie blinked, realizing that the moment he had harmed Katze must've been the turning point in his life other than becoming an eunuch. "Yes," he softly returned, stepping forward, as the redhead then began to looked scared and confused. So Katze remembered the hurt but not being given the next job and relinquished as Furniture, meaning he was in a constant state of fear. "It's all right."   
He took the internally distraught redhead into his arms for a moment, allowing him comfort as the frightened youth he was right now. "You're not being terminated, Katze. I still need you."

Riki watched the interaction, his eyes wide and mesmerized that Iason actually had the decency to do that for Katze. Maybe Iason had actually changed after all and he wasn't giving him enough credit? He watched on as Katze seemingly nodded, reassured and they exchanged words before Iason guided him to the guestroom.

Feeling a little odd, Riki grabbed his leather coat and headed out the door. He needed a walk by himself to get his thoughts all straightened out. 

—

Zara sighed as she examined yet another disrupted panel of circuits near the main entrance hall. Why would there be so many new errors right after she'd just checked the whole building a day prior? Wasting no time, she began to yank out the circuits and wires to check each one manually.

She paused as she saw a tiny digital bug on one of the wires, her pupils narrowed to the size of pin heads. "Motherfu..." Zara ground her teeth together and ripped off the tiny bug and smashed it into the side of the wall. It stayed there, flattened after sparking and becoming a pancake. 

"Wiring trouble?" a voice sounded behind her, as she fixed the problem and closed the panel back up.

Zara whipped around, and saw a new face. A dark haired young man, with tanned skin wearing a leather jacket. This must be Iason Mink's partner, and the newest Elite — Riki. "Not wiring, just a thorn in my side," she explained, then tossed him the squished bug. "Have you seen one of those before?"

Riki observed the squashed mess of a high quality tracking bug. He'd heard of them, but never seen one. They were tiny enough to fit on wiring, and feed information back to the main source. "No, not until now." He tossed it back. One of those would've been worth a lot of credits outside of Eos. "You got a hacker."

"It's not a hacker if I know who it is," Zara corrected. "And I'm seriously..." She took a breath. "You know what. It's fine, if they want to know my movements, let them." Zara shoved the tools she'd been using into the bag and slung it over her shoulder, then faced Riki and smiled. "Hello there. Its nice to meet you."

"Uh...hi," he returned.

"I'm Zara Avery. And you are?" she introduced, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Riki," he answered, surprised she offered her hand. He took it and shook it. Was this really the other Blondie? She seemed way too human.

"A pleasure to meet you, Riki," she sincerely announced. "I hope we can be good acquaintances." 

"Are you gonna be all right?" Riki asked, then wondered why the fuck he even bothered asking. He was talking to a BLONDIE. Why would he care about the well being about a Blondie. 

Zara raised an eyebrow. "Oh, oh yes, I'll be...I'll be fine. Just a nuisance. Cyril and Emma just like to be parent figures to me and ensure I'm doing enough checks for security."

"Parent figures? They're your—"

"Oh hell no! Ew, no, no!" Zara blurted. "They think I'm not doing my job correctly so they're monitoring me closely. As I said before, thorns in my side."

Riki frowned. "So they're spying on you?"

"You could say that," she agreed, tossing the idea around in her head. She thought spying was more childish but yes that's exactly what they were behaving like. "It's because I'm the youngest Blondie now." 

That peeked Riki's interest, as he had never been able to learn anything about Iason. Maybe he could through this Blondie? "How old are you?" he asked, then realized he was firstly asking a Blondie their age, and then a female. "Sorry."

"No, don't be," Zara assured with a smile, "I'm twenty."

Riki's eyes widened. "Twenty?" 

"Yes, twenty years young." 

"I thought that—"

"Riki!" 

Both heads turned to see a handsome and secretly worried Blondie quickly moving down the lit hallway towards them. His silky hair flowing out behind him like angel wings. 

"Iason," Riki returned, then looked to Zara who gave a polite nod of acknowledgement to the fellow Blondie. "I was just talking with..."

"Zara," she whispered to him quietly and swiftly.

"Zara, the new Blondie," Riki added, just as Iason arrived at his destination.

"I can see that," he agreed. "Hello again, dear. I see you found my mate, Riki." He put a bit of emphasis on mate. "And Raoul has patched you up I presume?"

"Yes, we were just talking about wiring," Riki insisted, then looked at Zara's face more closely. "What happened to your face? What did that green eyed toad do to you?"

Zara sputtered out a laugh, while Iason hissed the mongrel and gave him a warning swat on his behind. "No no, he didn't do anything. He healed my face, after this morning's encounter—" She swiftly bit her tongue. "Mishap with me being a clumsy thing and falling." Noticing that Iason had caught her almost slip up, she diverted her attention back to Riki, who was rubbing his stinging rump. "You don't care much for Raoul, I take it?"

"He's not my cup of tea," Riki growled.

"Aww," Zara pouted, tilting her head and giving big eyes. "I thought he was a nice man." Her eyes narrowed. "Perhaps I've been misled?"

"No, you have not, dear," Iason assured, not wanting any suspicion to grow upon Raoul. "He is my most trusted friend and confidant."

"Until you step into his laboratory and things inside jars are screaming."

Zara's eyes widened slightly in mock terror. "Screaming jars?"

"Riki."

"And beating hearts and blinking eyes."

"Riki!" Iason bellowed, pushing him behind his body, away from Zara. "One more word, and you are—"

Riki's eyes flashed. "I'm what? You can't stop me. I'm an Elite too. I have the right to speak my mind." 

"You are fabricating lies about a Blondie. That is inexcusable, so unless you want to be punished by Jupiter, I suggest you silence yourself."

"Bullshit," Riki growled, turning away. "Such bullshit." 

Iason turned back around, to find Zara not listening in on their conversation at all. After the "screaming jars" and whatnot, she got a ping on her wrist com security device so she was tending to it. "I apologize for his behavior," he began, and Riki snorted as he sat down on a bench.

"Why?" she asked, not looking up at first. Her eyes were flicking all over a screen frantically.

"I beg your pardon?"

Zara blinked, suddenly realizing who the fuck she was talking to. "Erm...I mean. Well. Why? Why do you apologize for his behavior?" 

It was Iason's turn to take a moment, and he gathered his thoughts. "Because they were unruly and unkind? They are not of an Elite?"

"But he's not an ordinary Elite, and frankly," she giggled. "I friggin loved that whole conversation. It's been so long since I've talk casually to someone." 

Iason blinked, this newcomer was full of more and more surprises. She had the Amoïan Elite training it seemed, but also the unruly behavior of a...well an unruly youth. Just like Riki. Odd, considering no other Blondie's had a youthful stage. Their brains were picked from an older generation he supposed. But hers? Hers seemed to be right in the youth. 

"My apologies, I've misspoken," Zara corrected, noticing that Iason didn't say anything for a moment. She then seemed very eager to get away. "I should take my leave. " 

"No, that's quite all right. But I need to know something," Iason insisted. "I would like for there to be complete honesty between us, as it would be beneficial for Riki's and my security." 

Zara started to sweat just a bit, really wanting to get out of the public hallway."Yes?"

"What really caused this?" He gently touched her cheek, surprised when she didn't flinch.

Her blue eyes held his for a long moment, like they were trying to convey some sort of message through them. "I was—"

"Zara!" Cyril called, storming out of a lift. His eyebrows knitted in a frown. "You have denied an Elite an off world pet?" 

"C...Cyril," she whispered, then gained back her voice in full force. "Yes, I did! If you'd just read the bloody documents you'd see why."

Cyril continued his charge forward, completely disregarding Iason. "Those are not valid reasons, and it is not your department!"

"Cyril, shall we take this to another venue? A private one?" she suggested, glancing around, thankful there were no onlookers in this particular hallway aside from a Riki on the bench. Riki was up on his feet, heading back towards Iason.

"Not until I get a valid explanation!" Cyril roared.

Iason saw Cyril draw his arm back and prepare hit Zara, and caught the Blondie's arm and bent it down.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey!" Riki yelled, running over and getting ready to fight and defend Iason. 

"Unhand me!" Cyril demanded, struggling with Iason. 

"Very well," Iason agreed, and let go of him, so that the Blondie would fall flat on his ass. 

Zara stared in horror at everything. "Why?" she breathed. 

"Are you OK?" Riki asked Iason, looking him up and down, who only nodded. He sighed in relief then looked to the shellshocked Zara who was still trying to figure out why Iason had fought off Cyril. 

"Why did you do that?" She was informed that as the youngest she had no right to dare touch any other Blondie's. And that Blondie's didn't have any contact with each other outside of a few friendly gestures which she was only to return if they did so first. That was the rule. 

Iason blinked, confused as to why she'd even ask a question like that. "Was I supposed to let him hit—" he paused, turning back to look at Cyril who had risen and was muttering before looking back at Zara. "You didn't fall." 

Zara's took a soft breath in, and she shook her head as her eyes fell. "No," she curtly answered.


	5. SLEEP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Chapter to Understand Zara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XOXO ♡♡♡Happy Valentine's Day ♡♡♡XOXO

Chapter Five 

<><><>SLEEP<><><>

"Congratulations," her instructor smiled, his green eyes twinkling and the corners of the eyelids wrinkled with crow's feet. "You've made me very proud to produce a prodigy who is going to serve on an Alliance planet such as Amoï. You'll do good there, you will be the best among them."

"Yes, Master Xuna," Zara promised, bowing low to the ground. She bit back tears, thinking this might be the last time she saw her instructor, her mentor, her reason for living. The last time she sat in this damn grass hut on a woven mat, in the middle of the bush lands. 

Master Xuna smiled, seeing her turmoil. "You are worried, child?" 

Zara looked up, her blue eyes glimmering. "It's just, we've been through so much," she stammered. "What if I need you?"

"I'll always be guiding you," he assured. "You are part of the tribe for life, and have the ancestors on your side."

"Master, this tribe...the tribe is..."

"We must not let that stop us," he interrupted, slapping his hand down. "We owe Amoï for saving the people we have left, and now, we will return the favor and give them our greatest person." 

"Yes, Master Xuna."

—

"Aim, fire!" ordered the drill officer.

Zara fired off the rounds necessary, effortlessly taking out each target. Headshot, headshot, chest, headshot, chest, civilian, civilian, headshot, civilian, chest, headshot.

"Firearms up!" the uniformed officer ordered, then tabulated everyone's results. "Those of you with a grade of seventy five percent or higher will be admitted to next stage."

"Goddamit!" a young man, with brown hair growled, tossing off his protection helmet. "That's not bloody fair! I missed his chest by two fucking centimeters! I demand a reshoot!"

Another officer came forward. "All scorings are final, there are no reshoots in real life." He shoved a manual into the young man's arms. "Back to studying and gun handling basics for you."

Zara exhaled, wondering what her score was. She waited nervously for it to appear on the screen above the end of her tunnel. Her body hopped to the side just before the drill officer could tap her shoulder.

"Zara Avery?" he inquired, skimming through his list and pulling up her ID. 

"Yes?" 

"I'd like to have a word with you."

Zara dumbly nodded, staring into the darkness of the helmet figure. "Is it about my score?" She glanced up again and still didn't see it.

"Yes, this way please."

—

Zara stared around the minimalistic room, aside from a desk of papers. "Is there something wrong with my score?" 

The figure took off his helmet, to reveal a...a Platinum Elite? There were Platinum Elite working among the normal security droids and humans? "No, there is nothing wrong with your score, dear," he assured. 

"Y...you're a Platinum Elite from Eos," she whispered, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled. "I've been scouting," he admitted. "We are short staffed on security for Eos, and I was sent to pick the top class students to fill in positions."

Zara just about died there. "And what does this have to do with me?" she whispered.

"Well that's just it," he began, flipping the tablet around and skimmed through it. "You have a perfect record, straight A's and you just scored top of the class on the shooting field." He set the tablet down. "You got 100." 

"No way," she breathed. "S...so..."

"You're one of the applicants to go to Eos."

—

Zara picked up her bags and followed behind the drill officer. He guided her to a van. "So there are others chosen from here?" she asked, seeing two other officers coming up behind her. Maybe they had others with them?

The officer didn't say anything, just continued to lead her to the lone van labelled Eos Security. 

Zara paused, her gut instincts telling her danger was near. She sized up the officer, realizing it wasn't the Plantinum from before. If it wasn't a Platinum taking her back to Eos, then who was? "Excuse me?" she demanded. "Where are the others? Where is the Plantinum I was speaking to the other day."

The officer stopped, just shy of the van. And slowly turned around to stare at Zara. The helmet eyes flashed red. 

By then it was too late, Zara had been grabbed from behind by the other two droids and shocked into unconsciousness. 

—

She awoke screaming into a mask, her blurry vision made it hard to see but she could see she was trapped. She was trapped in a cylinder of some kind. 

Water. She was underwater.

Her hands banged on the glass, pounding to let anyone know she was awake. 

Nothing. 

There had to be a way out. She looked up and saw a latched door. Yes, yes! She knew how to do this! She just needed a pin or something! Ah, the needle in her arm!

Zara winced, ripping the needle from her, and swam to the top. She began manoeuvring the needle around, and soon heard a pop before air bubbles appeared and the latch opened. She pushed herself free, gasping for air and choking.

"Oh fuck," she coughed, looking around in the dimly light room. There were android bodies, empty shells of androids hanging everywhere. Arms, legs, torsos, all hanging. And then there were a few empty tanks like the one she got out of.

And a door. Freedom!

Zara ripped all the cords off herself, ignoring the bleeding she caused. She was stronger than the pain, she was stronger than the pain! She kept repeating that to herself as she headed to the door. 

"Where are you going?" 

Zara whipped around, seeing a huge man with blue hair and purple eyes coming toward her. "Please, please help me. I've...I've been kidnapped. I'm supposed to be in Eos," she sobbed. 

"You are in Eos," the man assured, grabbing a towel from a cart and gently wrapping it around her. "Here, come with me."

"No, no," Zara protested. "I'm supposed to be—"

"I said, come," the man repeated, his purple eyes glimmering blue. 

Zara felt numb and obligated to follow, she sniffled and cried as the man led her back to the tanks. He helped Zara onto a small table, and laid her down.

"You are not done yet," he admonished gently, waving his hand over her eyes. "Go back to sleep."

Zara silently screamed as she felt a huge pressure fall over here before there was darkness again.

—

Zara opened her eyes, and peered out of the glass past her breathing bubbles to see the man with blue hair and purple eyes again. "Who are you?" she wondered, pushing a weak hand against the glass.

"I am Jupiter, your Creator," he answered.

"My..."

"Yes," he answered for her, taking a step to the glass and resting his hand where hers was. "You are a highly skilled creation of mine. A Blondie. You are in charge of Eos Security."

"Blondie?" Zara questioned, trying to process everything. How could she be a Blondie. She was just a normal ass human being. She missed home, she wanted to go home.

Jupiter's hand twitched, his purple eyes sensing the distress in the youth in front of him. "You remember something which bothers you?" 

"I'm not a Blondie, I'm a human," she denied, shaking her head. "I want to go home."

Jupiter's eyes narrowed. "Your memory will need to be adjusted," he stated matter of factly. 

Zara looked at the man with horror. "What?" she squeaked, then gasped at the intensity of the eyes that seemed to turn her brain and thoughts to mush. She grabbed her head. "N...no..."

"Let go," Jupiter demanded. 

"T...they're mine," Zara pleaded.

He needed her brain in full working order. And doing it this way was risky. Seeing it was a waste to get the small blockage out while she was conscious, Jupiter ceased. "Sleep," he ordered, and watched as she sobbed before blacking out.

—

"How long has this been going on?" Iason demanded, seeing now as to why Zara did not attend the meeting and lied. 

"Awhile," she answered softly.

"And you allow it?"

Zara sighed and softly responded. "I'm not permitted to stop it."

"Under whose authority?"

"Jupiter," she breathed, shuddering in fear. 

Iason sensed something extremely strange with that last detail. "That is completely unacceptable and falsehood. Jupiter would never allow such violence between Blondie's to occur. Our main rule is to not fight."

Zara didn't answer as she had nothing to say.

Iason turned to Cyril. "You and I are going to have a long chat in my office," he hissed. 

"Oh? Is that so?" Cyril replied, then looked to Zara. "We aren't finished."

"You most certainly are," Iason growled, his eyes cold enough to freeze hell over. "Riki, you stay with Zara. And Zara, call Raoul."

"Y...yes," she agreed. Her eyes wandered to Riki. "Uhm. I'm gonna make a quick call then...I guess we should...get out of this hallway."

—

Iason walked down the hallway with Cyril in front of him, buring holes into his back with his eyes of ice blue.

"How is this going down, friend?" Cyril inquired. "We chat, I leave, and go back to work and you yours. This is fruitless—."

Before he could finish, Iason had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and grabbed him hard, holding him like he was his bitch. "First of all, Cyril," he began. "We are not friends. Secondly, your fate is up to Jupiter. And thirdly." He felt the neck beneath his grip, noting it felt different in design from his own. A new prototype design? "You need to be reprogrammed."

Cyril ripped himself out of Iason's grip, touching his neck and glaring furiously at him. But then he faded back to monotone, and smiled. "I'd watch what you say, Iason, you still have people who eager to get at you."

"I have always dealt with my issues efficiently," Iason assured, getting right up into Cyril's face.

"Even without your, what do you call him, right hand man?" Cyril challenged.

Iason had to keep his cool, but his blood was boiling. How in the fuck did this Cyril know about Katze? "I always find a way to end what is bothering me," he asserted, his eyes narrowing. "I always win." He kicked Cyril in the shin, sending the unexpectant Blondie to his knee, and grabbing onto his hair in one motion. "And you'd best remember that, the next time you decide to mess with anyone or anything in my realm of business or pleasure."

"Ah, Iason! Iason, what are you doing?" Raoul demanded, his voice a low scolding as he hurried through the corridor. He'd gotten the call from Zara and traced Iason's location and portaled there — Jupiter bless portals. "Unhand him!"

Seeing no reason to keep holding him by his hair, Iason let him go, with an extra shove downwards. By then, Raoul had reached the two of them.

"What is going on here?" Raoul demanded, damn near huffing. Really, all of the chaos should've been solved with Iason's arrival, not more coming! "And why is Cyril on the floor! And why are you hurting him!"

"He punched Zara in the face."

Raoul blinked, his demeanor changing along with his stance. He looked at Cyril, his eyes full of hate, then Iason with propositioning to continue. "When?" 

"The introduction day, and he attempted to just now," Iason continued. 

"Is that so?" Raoul demanded, placing his foot on Cyril's shoulder and pushing him roughly down as he was about to get up. With bitterness in his voice, and while staring directly at Cyril he asked. "And does Jupiter know of this?" 

Iason shook his head. "No, I thought we could speak to him first. To see if we could reach an understanding."

"Ah," Raoul sounded, crossing his arms. "Yes, yes I do agree that sounds like a good idea."

"If you harm me, Jupiter—"

"She'll what?" 

"...come for you."

"Then She'll come for you too, for your harm to Zara," Iason reminded, then nodded to Raoul. "Shall we?"

—

The lift arrived at the destination of the security office, opening wide revealing a huge security facility with monitors all going, blinking to show several angles of overhead shots of the facility of Eos. About ten tablets on the huge table scrolled through data, constantly searching for errors, while diagrams of various closer up angles of hallways and doors of Eos projected on another part leaving only one space empty. 

"Wow," Riki blinked, analyzing everything, then seeing that there was another row of terminals for other use on the other wall. And further up, was a balcony of a long couch for a projector screen on the opposite wall above the terminals not in use. Then to the far right was one door which had a label of "Supplies" above it. "Quite a place in here."

"Mhmm," Zara agreed. "I had to make a few adjustments to it, as the old style was, well, not up to par."

Riki couldn't imagine what the old style was like. "I'm sure," he agreed, then looked at the projector screen. He had seen one similar back in an auction in Ceres, a much older model. "Does...Does that work?"

Zara followed his gaze. "Oh, ya," she smiled. "I added that in from the storage room, to make up for the table. If anyone's coming in here it's to see a short documentation. It's also great for flick nights."

"Mind if I?"

"Go ahead," she invited, gesturing to the stairs. 

Riki headed up, disregarding the couch seating and headed straight for the projector. It was a high class model, one that was used for lights shows in some areas. To be simply projecting a flick or documentation of some kind was a pity, but it would definitely bring the film to life just beyond the balcony. "This is quite a piece," he commented, crouching down, and examining the other components. "It's—" Golden eyes stared back at him from within a space between two pieces of equipment. He let out a scream of surprise as an orange and brown creature jumped out and scurried over his shoulder and straight into the room that said "Supplies" just as he fell on his ass. "What the hell was that?'

"What? What happened?" Zara demanded, hurrying over to him.

"Something jumped out at me!"

Zara raised an eyebrow, then they both went up. "Oh, oh, sorry," she realized. "That was Curry."

Riki frowned, what was she talking about a food for? "Curry?" he repeated.

She smiled, holding back and laugh while grabbing his hand. "Yes, Curry. " Zara led him to the door that said 'Supplies'. "It isn't much, but it's home." She pushed open the door to show a storage room divided by a small sectioned off sheet of poly wrap taped off all around with a zipper on the front, a tiny part of the bottom was unzipped, but the top she proceeded to unzip fully to the floor. Behind it revealed a bare minimum living space and..."That's Curry." A small creature hybrid mix of a fox, cat and red panda was sitting regally on the bed. It looked up with it's big amber eyes and let out a mewl.

Riki took a step back, firstly wondering how Zara even got that creature into Eos. But secondly, he observed the thin mattress on the floor, a small tablet by the bed, a bag of clothing next to folded ones, and basic hygienic materials in a portable bag next to very few personal items along with pet food and a litter box. "Y...you live here?" This was shittier than some of the places in Ceres, it was clean, but lacking. 

Zara looked away. "Yeah. I know it isn't much, but it is home." She stepped inside and tapped her lap. "Hello Curry, how's my babygirl?"

The creature hopped up and let out a pleasant sound as it cuddled up to Zara's face. It's fluffy brown, orange and white tipped tail fluidly swayed.

"This is Riki, say hi," she introduced, turning Curry to the mongrel Elite.

Riki hesitated, but then he saw Curry's cute fluffy face and nose. He reached out and touched it, surprised by how soft she was. "Wow, where did you get her?" 

Zara blushed. "I heard you needed a pet on Amoï," she admitted, giving Curry to Riki who was not prepared and became a mannequin with a new scarf as Curry draped over his neck while purring. "So..."

"That's not..."

"They didn't specify what breed," Zara defended, blinking as Riki was freely petting Curry. "She's taken to you." A ping sounded on her wrist comm. "I believe Iason is looking for you. I think it would be best if we part ways now."

Riki nodded, prying Curry from him with a final pet. "So why do you live here? All the other Blondie's have fancy house and shit."

Zara sighed. "Do you know what happens when a Blondie dies? They liquidate their assets, making it the next one's responsibility to manage." She set the furry creature down, who protested. "I didn't know what to do, so I...I haven't touched it. Orphe's...Orphe's." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Everything is exactly as he left it. His pet was sent to a loving home. And his Furniture was reassigned to another Elite, I made sure of that. But his home, and his assets are exactly as they were left and are...frozen."

"Why didn't..."

"How could I take a dead man's life savings and pretend everything is fine?" Zara asked, her eyes wide with sincerity and shook her head. "That's just..."

Riki agreed, but he had been in rough times in the past where his gang and he would've done anything no matter what. "Yeah, I get it." He then asked. "What are you gonna do with it?"

—

Raoul and Iason just arrived into the Mink residence shortly after Zara and Riki. They were both talking amongst themselves, discussing the best course of action for taking the matter of Cyril to Jupiter. 

"Hey," Riki called out softly, seeing Iason return, not looking at all bothered. He didn't even seem to have a hair out of place. The mongrel took a sip of the coffee that Cal had brought him. 

"Hi," Iason sighed, coming over and collecting his beloved into his arms. Even when Riki protested in embarrassment, he held tight. 

Zara hid her smile, nodding to Raoul who rolled his eyes at the pair and walked over to her. 

"Any new injuries?" he demanded, scanning her features. 

"No, thanks to Iason I am just fine," she assured. 

Raoul nodded. "Good." He then turned away, still looking angry. "He ought to be reported and—"

"That is for Jupiter to decide, Raoul, give it a rest."

The green eyed Blondie glared. "Jupiter hasn't been up to par as far as I'm concerned," he hissed. 

"Watch yourself, Raoul," Iason warned. "Don't say things you'll regret in anger. I don't want to lose you too."

Raoul huffed, but felt his chest flutter knowing his brother felt concern, waving his hand. "Fine, fine." 

Zara smiled at the little spat between friends. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, I think I'll take my leave and go home now." She bowed to the group and slid past them.

"Yes, I'm going home too. What floor is yours? I'll walk with you, Zara."

Zara paled. "It's all right, really," she assured.

Raoul said his goodbyes. "No no, I insist."

Riki watched as Zara's eyes went wide with fear, as her cover was going to be blown. If the other Blondie's knew she didn't have a home, what would they say? They had probably just assumed she was at work constantly. "You can't," he spoke up.

"Why not?" Raoul demanded, turning on his heel to look back at Riki and then Iason who was also demanding an explanation.

"Because," Riki began, then silently apologized to Zara for revealing the truth. "She doesn't have one."

"Pardon?" Raoul continued to look at Riki, who lifted his drink to Zara before sipping. "You don't have an apartment or condo with the Eos mainframe? Parthea?" When she shook her head, he blinked. "Where have you been living this whole time!"

—

Zara wanted to die. Well maybe not die, but disappear into a black hole never to be seen, as Iason Mink and Raoul Am stared at the poly wrapped enclosure of her "home". One side was her home, the other side was supplies and way in the back were droids. What a beautiful living space. 

"Well, this won't do," Raoul insisted, analyzing the little set up as if it were some foreign territory full of diseases. 

"Do you not have the funds to get a decent living space?" Iason demanded, a frown scrunching up his forehead.

Zara felt like she was being scolded by two older Brothers, or Uncles or Fathers. "I...I get a weekly allowance?" 

Raoul shot a look over his shoulder. "How much?"

"8000 credits."

"Pocket change," Raoul huffed, confirming his suspicions. "That's not enough to get anything but basic low standard necessities." 

Iason looked to Raoul. "Why would Jupiter not provide a living space or funds for it?"

Zara stepped forward. "He did," she assured. "I just. I haven't."

"Why would you not use it?"

Riki groaned, finding this so painful. Clearly Zara wasn't gonna speak up with two vultures pecking at her. "It's still in Orphe's name, Jesus."

"Orphe?" Iason repeated, contemplating the idea as to why it would still be in his name. "Jupiter wanted you to sell his assets. And use the funds?"

Zara nodded, swiping her eyes. "I couldn't do it, it's not my stuff. I'm sorry. It's just as he left it, aside from sending his pet and Furniture to loving homes."

Iason nodded, understanding her dilemma. Orphe had a great deal of assets, and having to go through all he owned would take time and effort. She felt like she was stealing, did she? Hmm. Interesting. "I will handle that, and get the properties taken care of. Then we will move you to the proper floor." 

"Thank you," she agreed. 

"In the meantime, you...can't stay in this," Raoul argued, pointing to the mess. 

Curry suddenly emerged, rushing up and hopping onto Riki. It took him by surprise, but then he knew who it was. 

"It's infested!" Raoul yelled, grabbing a laser tranquilizer from his belt. Iason had one tight hand on Curry, who was clinging to Riki, and was about to crush the poor creature.

"Stop, stop!" Riki yelled, unsuccessfully getting the petrified Curry away from the overprotective Blondie.

"Wait!" Zara pleaded.

"Why? This rat has to go! It attacked you, Riki! Not to mention it shouldn't be here!" Iason demanded, holding tight on the quivering creature's scruff.

"Give it, but dont kill it," Raoul demanded, wanting to take it back to his laboratory and cut it open and examine it while it was still alive.

"It's not a rat!"

"Then what is it?"

"Curry!" both Zara and Riki replied in unison. 

Zara hurried over, taking her beloved Curry back from Iason. "Are you okay, my little love? Are you okay?" she cooed, petting the creatures fur while it gave rough purrs.

"Curry?" Iason repeated, observing the scene. "How did she get it in here?"

"Yes, and I haven't any idea," Riki sighed, watching Raoul put his weapon away. "Don't let him steal Curry. Zara loves that thing."

"I can see that."

Zara saw she was being watched. "This is Curry, my pet," she introduced.

Iason closed his eyes for a moment. "That's not a pet in Amoïan sense, but in the generic sense, yes."

"Nobody specified what breed my Amoïan pet had to be," she defended, trying to calm down after her furbaby was almost destroyed. "So meet Curry." 

Riki looked to Iason, who pinched the bridge of his nose. He smiled, letting out a soft laugh. "She's right though," Riki pointed out.

Iason shot Riki a glare, but was thrilled to hear the young man laugh. He missed that sound dearly. He felt himself getting hard. "Well, we will take our leave," Iason insisted, ushering Riki along with him. "I will take care of Orphe's assets." 

"Thank you," Zara sighed in relief. "I really appreciate it."

"I'll meet up with you later."

"I would like to see your "pet" and run a few tests on it," Raoul spoke up, disarming himself finally. He could see he wasn't going to easily get the specimen by force, so he'd have to talk it into his hands. "It needs vaccinations for Amoï and tags."

The female Blondie hesitated, giving a soft hug to Curry. She wasn't fond of giving up her little girl to anyone. "Will you be gentle with her?" she asked almost like a scared child, looking to Raoul with big blue eyes.

"Of course," he assured, as if he hadn't just tried to tranq it two minutes earlier. "Now as for your living accommodations." He looked back at her poly wrapped home, and cringed, before brushing the hair over his shoulder. "I know it's not the most convenient, and it might be controversial. But would you care to room with me?"

Zara blinked. Room with Raoul Am? One of Jupiter's highest achievements. She was a peasant in rich people's clothes. Her lips twitched, as she tried to form words. "R...ro..." She paused, holding up her finger and took a moment. "Room. Room? Room with you? Like...like as in cohabitation?"

"Yes, that is the other term," he agreed. "I have plenty of spare rooms. Or I can get you up in a guesthouse." 

"I really don't want to burden you," Zara insisted, feeling uneasy at the idea of boarding in a Blondie's home. Wait, she was a Blondie. Shit, she had to remember that. She wasn't used to it yet! So would it technically be like she were having a really long sleepover at Raoul's?

Raoul waved her off, catching Curry's gaze and the two had a stare down. "It's no burden at all," he assured, not giving up, even as the animal's eyes went to the size of pinheads. Fascinating. "Really, I insist, this is no place for you to be living in. You'll go mad sleeping in the place you work." He kept the fact he had a spare bed in his laboratory quiet. 

Zara caved, feeling like now if she said no she'd offend him. "Very well," she agreed. She realized Curry was staring at Raoul, and gave her a shake. "Be nice," she hissed in a different language. "I'll get my things." She handed the creature to Raoul. "Be good for him."

"I can get my Furniture to—"

"No!" Zara blurted, but then felt really bad. She was super protective of the security space. She only allowed certain people in. People she knew were trustworthy, and not going to mess anything up. And call her OCD, but she planned on having nobody unwanted inside the space or around her things. "Sorry. I just, I can't afford to have anyone unwarranted coming in here. Iason and Riki's lives depend on having this space locked down to certain people, until the rats are poisoned out."

Feeling touched by the diligent attitude Zara had toward Iason, the green eyed Blondie nodded. "So be it, but I will send my Furniture with a cart to your door. That way you're not lugging anything." He turned on his heel. "I'll get her settled in first."

Zara nodded. "Raoul?" she called, watching the Blondie turn back to her. "Thank you."


End file.
